harrypotterfanonfandomcom-20200223-history
Gertrude Wolfe (Ouroboros)
Gertrude Nox Wolfe (b. 18 August 1980) was the daughter of the famed Paranormal Detective, magi-philosopher and Squib, Edward Balthazar McRosen (nicknamed by the British tabloids "Mad Rozza") and his Muggle ex-wife, Agnes Wolfe. Nox was in the process of completing her detective training when the war broke out during 1997-98. Though unbeknownst to her, the war deeply affected her life. With the mysterious disappearance of her father, Nox inherited both Edward's Paranormal Detective agency and hefty debts. Early life Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Nox spent a large portion of her life growing up on the Isle of Harris, Fort William and eventually Edinburgh until her mismatched parents divorced. In the ensuing split, Nox, aged eight, took her mother's surname and left Scotland to live with her father in London. A horrible event witnessed in Portabello Road during that very summer would start a strange course of events in motion, which would ultimately decide the fate of the future wizarding world and its relations with Muggle society. Nox intended to embark on a life of order and discipline working as a detective, but she successfully flunked her provisional period due to the wizarding war of 1997-98. After her father's mysterious disappearance on the night of May 2nd. 1998, Nox could no longer fulfil her own wishes to become a detective and instead turned her attentions to her father's old business, a Paranormal Detectives agency, in the hopes of tracking him down. In spite of having a Squib for a father, Nox grew up knowing nothing about the magical world until a strange man in a mauve top hat, identifying himself as one Dedalus Diggle, accosted her in her favourite lunch spot off Leicester Square in 2003. Personality & Traits An introverted Muggle, Nox is clumsy, cynical and tired, but nonetheless very focused and dedicated to her work. She is a strong realist with a deep sense of honour and justice, and fiercely believes that every bizarre or strange occurrence can be rationally explained. This obviously flies in the face of the Weasley twins' philosophy. While Nox might be a bit withdrawn, her curiosity often gets the better of her. Nox's most obvious character trait is being sensible, an attribute carefully cultivated as a counterbalance to the influence of her eccentric father and self-centered mother. Initially, this manifested itself as a refusal to admit the wizarding world even existed. Her reaction to Edward's upbringing has instilled in her a certain lack of romanticism, prompting Minos Devine to proclaim, "Dear me, you're heart's as dry as old leaves!" Nevertheless, Nox could adequately be described as a dreamer. She has grown up with Edward's 'tall tales' and read fantasy novels from a very young age, often imagining herself (though with some difficulty) as they heroine. From this we see that Nox is somewhat repressive of her own feelings which are hidden behind her sarcastic and cynical exterior. As the story progresses, Nox begins to see the flaw in her initial beliefs and often remarks how sad it is that so many Muggles cannot see what is directly in front of them. Nevertheless, as the heartbreak and the horrors of the wizarding world unfold, there is a part of her heart that mourns the loss of her simple life, when night was nothing to be afraid of and that ominous noise really was 'just the wind'. In following with her practical outlook on life, Nox does not have a great deal of patience with people who behave in an inefficient or unfocused fashion. That said, the people closest to her tend to be just that and Nox's growing fondness for the ghost of Fred Weasley eventually develops into romantic love. She has demonstrated the ability to retain a calm, guarded and analytical mindset even in the most extraordinary of situations, such as werewolves, swamp hags, demon parades, interactions with the greasy crew of the airship, The Earnest Vice, and the discovery of the mysterious Soul Islands (not locatable on any known maps). Nox's academic talents, however, do not extend to the kitchen: : It wasn’t that Nox was a bad cook. It was that she was so bad she had actually managed to find several entirely new flavours which danced on your palate like an elephant wearing stilettos. The previous week she had attempted to make a stew. The pot still sat on the back ring of the cooker, which George and Percy were currently peering into. It led a private life of its own and ate spoons. “I think we should give it a name,” George said at last. “Anything that excretes that kind of odour deserves some sort of title. Maybe we could market it to hags as bath gel.” She does, however, possess an intense fixation on cheesecake, one about which she is very defensive. Physical Appearance At the beginning of Twin Vice, Nox is described as being skinny with gangly limbs. Her eyes are large, but clear, sharp and intelligent. Her hair is short, dark and unkempt. Its natural state is a straggly mass reminiscent of a dandelion and often flops stubbornly in her eyes, as though it has a life of its own (a reflection on the contrasting characters Nox so often finds herself surrounded by). Nox is most often seen in plain work clothes: shirt, loose tie, braces, brown trousers and laced, worn boots. Having had grown up with a father who is often described as being made up of two large circles, a mustache and possessed by the spirit of a puppy on steroids, Nox developed a "Look" which can be rather disconcerting, even to those with sharp pointy teeth. Thus far, this Look has proved inaffective on Fred Weasley. Despite her relative youth, Nox projects a sense of great age, though she is unaware of this. In addition, she possesses a scar across her shoulder from a near fatal accident the night her father disappeared. Powers & Abilities Despite coming from an apparent long line of witches and wizards, Nox appears to be no more than a Muggle, but due to her direct nature, ability to 'see past her own nose', and a little Weasley trickery with the aid of a mouldy Jammy Dodger, Nox took to the wizarding world relatively easy (due to her stubborn belief in keeping her head in a crisis). Nox therefore has no magical powers or extra senses. She has, however, demonstrated her perceptive nature on more than one occasion, quickly noting the subtle differences in Fred and George's personalities, and Luna's unspoken feelings for George Weasley. Though she has not inherited her grandparents magic, she may well have inherited her father's gift for Highland Second Sight, as she appears to have the ability to use word suggestion (also known as 'Word Magic'; a form of hypnotism) to rid spirits, ghouls and Vengefuls by learning their name, birth and death date. What this possible gift may mean for Nox's future is not yet known, however, the author has expressed a desire to limit her character's supernatural abilities as it is very important that Nox remains as 'human' as possible. Role Nox is one of Twin Vice Paranormal Detectives' principal protagonists and, as a Muggle, allows the reader to get closer to the wizarding world, though somewhat reluctantly. Her down to earth personality contrasts with the absurd goings on and people around her. As Nox is forced away from her normal existance to do battle with various supernatural forces, it is she, not the wizarding world, that becomes absurd. As the story continues, the overarching plot reveals deeper, older magic long since forgotten has begun to reappear and Nox is faced with a world of magic that even her employees, George Weasley and his undead twin, are unfamiliar with. At the beginning of Twin Vice, Nox is struggling with to keep her father's business above water and in an attempt to find a new apartment enters the Weasley twins' strange old townhouse in Islington: Weasley Manor. After meeting George and his ghostly twin, Fred, she agrees to an odd contract: cheap rent and accommodation in Weasley Manor in return for hiring Fred and George as her assistants in her father's Paranormal Detective agency. The business is subsequently renamed, Twin Vice Paranormal Detectives Agency, and after the first casebook is filed - featuring a rather bloody "Grimms' fairytale" style murder on the wild moors of Dartmoor - Nox agrees to staying permanently. It is later revealed to Nox that Weasley Manor has in fact put Fred Weasley's ghost under a curse, which states he will lose his soul within the year if he does not complete seven tasks. The tasks are seven cases, each crime committed under one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Over the course of the cases, Nox and the twins come to learn that Weasley Manor was in fact built by Salazar Slytherin and that his mother, the legendary Snow Witch, Gudrun, may be behind the strange goings on being reported across the globe. Relationships Though very perceptive, Nox tends to watch people from a distance and is the first to admit that she finds it difficult to relate to other people on a personal level. The strict 'no-nonsense' side of her personality is one she had developed from a young age in order to protect her father and this tends to stop her warming up to people - or rather it stops people from warming up to her. *Fred Weasley Initially Fred treats Nox as a spoiled child would treat a new toy. As with everyone else, he teases and mocks Nox relentlessly, nicknaming her 'Flatty', 'Noxy' and making up crude rhymes with her name. As a Weasley and a Gryffindor, Fred is protective by nature and does not like the way George puts her in danger during their first case together. While happy to leap headlong into danger with George as they have always done, Fred does not like the idea of taking someone else along for the ride. Fred's feelings for Nox are slow in the making as the major theme of the story is friendship rather than romance. Nevertheless, there is a lot of talk about characters and their 'most precious person' and it is strongly hinted many times by George that Fred and Nox are developing a strong bond, though they are quite unaware of it themselves. :George sometimes toyed with the notion that Fred and Nox’s often severe dislike of one another was developing into genuine affection. It was understandable they were getting frustrated, having lived in each other’s pockets these past few months. Perhaps it was what Muggles sometimes called ‘cabin fever’. Of course, the other side of his brain (the side that didn’t tell blatant porkies), understood that the detective and his twin could have been standing at opposite ends of a Quidditch pitch and still get on each other’s nerves. It is Fred who gradually becomes aware of his changing feelings for Nox, but as the story stands he has not come to fully understand what they are. He is attracted to her passion for life and the things she loves, and has pondered what it might be like if her dedication to her job was aimed at a friend or even lover. *'George Weasley' Despite appearances, it is perhaps George who warms up to Nox faster than any other character in the story. He is the 'middle-man' between Fred and Nox. While on the surface, George appears to be very like his twin. However, Fred's death changed George's personality somewhat drastically, though this is only obvious to his closest friends and family. He recognises Nox's grief for her absent father. Having both lost their most important person, Nox and George developed an unspoken, but very powerful bond of friendship and respect. *'Caithion Sidhe' Nox Gertrude Wolfe’s relationship with Caithion Sidhe is not unlike that of a mysterious black-sheep Uncle and his favored niece. As the only friend of her father’s that Nox met on a regular basis, Caithion became a sort of permanent addition to her life, even when she had long grown past the point of needing a ‘glorified babysitter’ (which had been Caithion’s function when she was a child). Though he is thorny and stand-offish with most people, Caithion treats Nox warmly, claiming that it was what her father wanted him to do. He is protective of her and her ambitions, and has been known to come to her rescue when the water gets too deep. On the flip side, Caithion has also been known to stand back and allow Nox to make her mistakes, believing that sometimes it is the only way she will learn. Nox has only witnessed Caithion angry once; she had nightmares for a week. Etymology The name Gertrude is related to the Old Norse name, Gerda. Gerda was a character in Hans Christian Andersen's, The Snow Queen, which Twin Vice is loosely based upon. Gerda went on a quest to rescue the person who meant the most to her, Kay, who had been abducted by the Queen. The story mirrors George and Nox's quest to save Fred's soul from Salazar Slytherin's mother, the Snow Witch, Gudrun. Nox's surname, "Wolfe", links to the overall theme of wolves in the story and indeed the story's tagline 'the Wolves are Running...'. There are several mentions of wolves throughout the story e.g. Gudrun's Little Red Riding Hood-esque backstory, the great wolf Managarm's appearance in Chapter 16 and the wolves' attacking Blackwater Tower. Wolves in mythology are often portrayed as being loyal servants of the Snow Queen and of other villains e.g. J.R.R. Tolkien's Morgoth. Nox is Latin for night. The wolf and night have the symbol of the moon in common, linking Nox to Luna Lovegood (Luna = Moon). In this, we see a direct contrast between Luna and Nox (moon and night) to Fred and George Weasley, who as Gryffindors have the symbol of the sun in common. External links *Twin Vice Paranormal Detectives *Hell's Bells *Ouroboros *Less Bread! More Taxes! Wolfe, Nox Wolfe, Nox Wolfe, Nox Wolfe, Nox